On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the Minnesota Vikings at London's Wembley Stadium, a game the NFL is said to have sold out nine months in advance. (The Jacksonville Jaguars vs. the San Francisco 49ers, on Oct. 27, also at Wembley, sold out just as quickly.)

But what does this land of the "fast-bowled googly" (cricket), "ruck" (rugby) and the "rolling off" (netball) — not to mention soccer, the nation's most celebrated sport — make of "automatic first downs," "personal fouls," and the "line of scrimmage"?

"American football is at a pretty exciting stage in the United Kingdom," says Richard Fuller, a British Conservative Party politician who has set up a cross-party group in parliament to study the prospect of wider adoption of America's most popular sport here, and how best to support its growth.

"There are a lot of forces coming together to take it to the next level," he says.

Fuller, a football devotee from the age of 19 after he traveled around the USA on a greyhound bus, says the recent granting of BUCS status — roughly equivalent to the NCAA — to football-playing British colleges is not only a development that is key to unearthing home-grown talent, but an indication of how far things have progressed.

"Whatever cultural barriers initially existed in Britain were overcome in the late 1980s, when American football was broadcast here on TV for the first time," he says. "There's a strong foundation of support now."

Indeed, in the broadest possible terms — those who say they like the sport — Britain has come a long way.

More than 11 million people out of a total population of 63 million in the United Kingdom, or 17%, now say they are NFL fans, according to NFL research. That compares to about two-thirds of people in the USA who self-identify as football fans.

In China, by way of contrast, which has a population of 1.4 billion, there are about 3 million fans of the sport, or 0.2% of the population, according to managing director of NFL China Richard Young, who revealed the statistics in an interview with Ad Age in January.

On yet another measure, the NFL's main Facebook page has 8 million "likes"; NFL China's Facebook page has a mere 199 "likes"; and the league does not maintain a separate Facebook page for the U.K.

As an export concept, Fuller says, football is not without headwinds.

"Whereas for basketball or soccer it's relatively easy to put together a team, put two jerseys down for a goal, or find a basketball hoop and just start playing, there's a lot of structure to football that makes it more difficult to transport to another country," he says. "There's the structure of the team, the structure of the officials. There's also the cost of the equipment," he says.

The modest amount of padding permitted but not required, for example, for players of rugby pales in cost compared to a helmet, shoulder pads, leg padding and other accessories deemed absolutely necessary for football players.

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NFL titans Troy Polamalu (43) of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings met Sept. 29 as the NFL returned to London and Wembley Stadium. The Vikes outlasted the Steelers 34-27, thanks in large part to Peterson's efforts.
Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

Steelers rookie RB Le'Veon Bell made his NFL debut in the game and vaulted into the end zone for his first professional TD in the opening quarter. Bell hit paydirt again in the third quarter.
Sang Tan, AP

The league has been featuring its product abroad for decades and is increasing the visibility of players overseas. Vikings Jared Allen (69) and Kevin Williams (93) and Pittsburgh's Ramon Foster were among those who jetted over to the United Kingdom in July to serve as NFL ambassadors.
Lefteris Pitarakis, AP

The Jaguars and 49ers will meet in London on Oct. 27, marking the first time two games have been played there in the same season. The Jaguars will "host" a game in England each of the next four seasons as owner Shad Khan tries to expand the team's international footprint.
Lefteris Pitarakis, AP

Before exporting regular-season contests as part of its International Series, the NFL regularly staged preseason games in England, Germany and even Japan. The league also supported a minor league called NFL Europe.
Katsumi Kasahara, AP

The Bills have been farming out one regular-season game per season to Toronto since 2008 in a bid to expand their regional presence outside of Buffalo. Unfortunately for the Bills, they're only 1-4 in "home" games at the Rogers Centre in an event that's been met with tepid local enthusiasm and overpriced tickets.
Rick Stewart, Getty Images

But the International Series' flagship affairs occur in London, beginning with the Dolphins-Giants matchup in 2007, which came complete with a 26-foot statue of Miami defender Jason Taylor. The game was the NFL's first regular-season foray outside North America.
Ben Stansall, Getty Images

The Buccaneers, who are owned by the Glazer family (they also control world-famous soccer club Manchester United), were back in 2011. But they fared no better against the Bears, who won 24-18 as RB Matt Forte racked up 183 yards from scrimmage and scored one TD.
Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports

Brady and the Pats invaded again in 2012. They faced a Rams squad that had initially agreed to play three "home" games at Wembley but later backed out given their tenuous stadium circumstances in St. Louis.
Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski stole the show in a 45-7 wipeout of the Rams, catching eight passes for 146 yards and two TDs. In his Gronk save the Queen performance, the tight end mimicked a member of the Queen's Guard after one of his scores -- or, in Gronk-speak, "That little nutcracker dude that's guarding the house. ... I like how he just sits there and stays still. It's pretty cool."
Jamie McDonald Getty Images

It would probably be pretty cool for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to put a franchise in London as part of his legacy. However a league official recently told USA TODAY Sports there won't be a team permanently based abroad anytime soon. A London Super Bowl may be a more realistic possibility in the short term.
Richard Mackson, USA TODAY Sports

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Still, growth for the game at the grass-roots level — at the field level — does nevertheless appear to be taking place in the U.K.

"It's an upward trajectory in terms of participation," says Andy Fuller, the director for student football at the British American Football Association, the national governing body for the sport here.

BAFA's Fuller says that there has been "rapid and tremendous growth within the higher education sector" with a full 76 college teams now competing and what he called a "tranche more" ready to launch for the 2014 and 2015 season. In 2008, there were 42 teams playing college football in the U.K.

But to misquote Shakespeare, there are more things between heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your desire to see football matches played in Britain, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

"No other sport will ever be as big as soccer as it is part of the psyche of the country, " says Lawrence Vos, a British-based corporate brand manager and NFL blogger.

"I think we can sustain a long-term franchise in London but they would need to win early," says Vos, referring to the oft-touted idea that the capital city may one day host a permanent NFL franchise.

Vos' local team, the University of Birmingham Lions, were crowned BUCS American Football National Champions in April, but of the four NFL teams playing in London this fall, only the 49ers have managed to win a game this season.

"I will be there on Sunday for the Steelers-Vikings game, but I would much rather be there to root for an NFL team that is based in the U.K. The fans that go to Wembley support all 32 teams so it's always a bit of a weird atmosphere," Vos said.

Ahead of that, on Saturday, Londoners will be presented with the full basket of goods that the NFL has to offer when the central shopping street of of Regent Street will be closed for traffic, giving way to an NFL block party replete with "interactive NFL content, team zones, music and entertainment, cheerleader performances" and more.

It might prove to be a cultural awakening for some, a reminder of good times for others.

"You want to know when I fell in love with American football?" says Fuller, the British MP, recounting his days aboard that greyhound bus.

"The only people I knew in the USA lived in the town of Harvard, Nebraska, and while there we went to see a game at the University of Nebraska. I have been a Cornhusker fan ever since."